The windshield washer fluid in our long-term 2009 BMW M3 is low.
The telltale between the meters in the pic above shows that. But I couldn't find any mention in the Navi display (under the service menu) through the iDrive.
BMW does give you a single auditory chime that's exactly the same as when you unlatch the seatbelt or leave the parking brake on (the first click), so you have to look at the meters to see what's going on. Not that I've done either of those other two.
UPDATE: I just came back from adding washer fluid. Hit the jump to see my surprise.
When I went to fill the washer fluid, I was greeted with this filler opening.
As you can see, the filler spout is black plastic and quite opaque, not the translucent plastic with which I am more familiar. And there's no fluid reservoir either, the tube just disappears underneath.
You'd best add washer fluid to your M3 -- slowly.
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 13,471 miles
retiredtwice says:
02:08 PM, 12/16/09
Hi
You wont find the telltale for low engine coolant in the manual either. I read it cover to cover to make sure that is what it was telling me. But nothing. You would think with a manual that thick they could cover important stuff like that. It was pretty obvious what it was but still ...
Checking, it turns out it was a cold morning and the fluid was not down much if any so I ignored it and it hasn't repeated. Appears to have been a glitch.
One thing I don't like about the car is the lack of a coolant temp gauge. Oil temp is nice to have but you lose coolant and overheat a lot faster with a coolant leak so I think this was a very poor choice on BMW's part on an otherwise outstanding vehicle. That and the lack of roll down rear windows on the coupe I have are my only complaints. (well, there is the low front facia that wont go over the smallest curbs but that is common on a lot of sports type vehicles)
roadburner says:
04:57 PM, 12/16/09
The E39s also have a hidden reservoir(located behind the RF wheel). The 5ers also had a small underhood mechanical float gauge so there was no risk of overfilling the reservoir. It wasn't mentioned in the manual either.
bodyblue says:
05:04 PM, 12/16/09
I am surprised that BMW does not have a computerized device that tells you the viscosity of the fluid and the actual temperature of the fluid......I mean who could live without washer fluid temp???...,.,.next thing you know you wont even have to have a key to start the car......um nevermind.
hybris says:
06:35 PM, 12/16/09
I see this type of set up on all the Econoline trucks and it does drive me nuts but we have found a way around it.
Stick your middle finger in the tube if its dry add a lot if wet add a little.
Honestly if I could meet the engineer who decide to use opaque plastic I give a piece of my mind... and my boot.
slickersdrip says:
08:38 PM, 12/16/09
Or it can be really awesome like on my SRT-4, where the reservoir is against the firewall and the only way to really be able to tell if you have enough coolant is that it just starts spilling out of the reservoir and all over the garage floor. Exceedingly frustrating to say the least.
vt8919 says:
08:47 PM, 12/16/09
I wish all cars had this "low washer fluid" light. My Camry has it and it's nice to know in advance that you're about to run out of fluid as opposed to going down the interstate, getting grime on the windshield from a passing truck, and finding out the hard way I have nothing to clean it off with.
vvk says:
06:41 AM, 12/17/09
I lot of cars are like that.
Your BMW dealer will be glad to do this for you using the excellent non-toxic BMW fluid -- free of charge. However, if you prefer to breathe in toxic vapors, by all means...
takikuroi says:
07:33 AM, 12/17/09
If it's like my 135i, then the reservoir is large enough that when the light comes on you can fit an entire bottle of fluid in it, with none left over. I don't worry about overfilling.
audisport says:
08:24 AM, 12/17/09
@ takikuroi- It's the same in my A4. Once the little animated low fluid warning pops up, she's ready for a full bottle of washer fluid. No overflow, no spills.
mmmmmmmm3 says:
09:04 AM, 12/17/09
*GASP*, you use the washers on your M3 and get fluid all over it? Heathens!
My car is usually clean enought that I hate using the washers and getting fluid on the (black) paint. I did use them last week with the rain since the car was dirty anyway and they are very effective.
bimmerjay says:
10:22 AM, 12/17/09
@vvk,
"Your BMW dealer will be glad to do this for you using the excellent non-toxic BMW fluid -- free of charge. However, if you prefer to breathe in toxic vapors, by all means..."
Plus the BMW fluid has a delightful lemon-fresh scent (seriously).
arm51 says:
11:15 AM, 12/17/09
@takikuroi @audisport - The reservoir on the E9x 3-Series can hold 1 gallon of fluid when empty\close to empty. It's very convenient!
@bimmerjay - Yes, yes it does!
Sorry for the late posting, I'm doing catchup...
joefrompa says:
01:07 PM, 12/17/09
Agree, my subaru is like that (though it has never once run out and I don't think there's an icon letting me know it's about too). It takes a full gallon.
Surprised me the first time I filled it. Very nice though as I pretty much make it a full winter season without adding any.
bodyblue says:
08:58 AM, 12/18/09
My Dodge also takes a full gallon...one of those thoughtfull features that are cool.....I hate half of a bottle of fluid rolling around in the trunk.
e34bmwlover says:
09:12 AM, 12/20/09
Yeah most cars do that. It's a universal symbol that even a cheap nissans got. I'm surprised that E90 just illuminated the "symbol" instead of displaying the message. Most older generation bimmers, like E34 or E39 beeps and displays "Low washer fluid". I'd prefer it to some stupid light.
Still, I'm thankful for cars with check control modules, they just take the stress out of driving. I don't have to worry about low oil, low coolant, low washer fluid, burned out bulbs, and etc before driving. It's almost perfect.
If only they had a big effing red button to turn the +38F bong off... I don't need a bong to realize that leather seats going to be cold for my bottom